


Are We Done Yet?

by fsf99



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: AU, Camping, F/F, Modern Fantasy AU, Modern Fantasy Fates, Road Trip, beating the shit out of creepy dudes, s'mores are delicious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-12-23 18:23:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11995422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fsf99/pseuds/fsf99
Summary: Lady Camilla of Nohr realizes that her retainers need to get along much, much better. Instead of helping them resolve their differences, however, she decides to pack the two into an SUV and send them on a friendship Road Trip across and around the continent. There's no telling what they'll find, or if they'll even survive each other.





	1. In Which Two Retainers are Shipped Out

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, everyone, it's time for a non-smut focused adventure, featuring the two best retainers (in my opinion)! I wanted to keep everything a surprise until this chapter. Although it is a bit short, this is because I'm planning for more chapters to hopefully be longer, and I was too darn excited to get this one out for people to finally see it!
> 
> So, this is, as the tags should say, a Modern Fantasy AU set on the same continent that the Fates games happen! Think of it as if the world is the same, but it's in the same vein of magic and technology as Final Fantasy XV. This was recommended by some friends of mine, and I just had to do it! I hope you'll enjoy the start!

"A what?!" The two young women cried simultaneously, staring at Lady Camilla of Nohr, who simply smiled at them.

"A road trip!" The purple haired beauty replied, "I wanted you two to become better friends, so I'm sending the two of you on a roadtrip around the continent!" Selena and Beruka looked to their Lady, then to each other, then back to her.

"But why with her?" They both asked at the same time, pointing accusing fingers.

"She's always so moody!" Selena whined, crossing her arms and sneering.

"And she never shuts up about her clothes!" Beruka retorted, leering at the redhead. Camilla simply laughed.

"This is exactly why!" She said, bringing both girls into a hug, "I'm sure the two of you will have fun, and I know you'll be the best of friends when you come back." The two retainers averted their eyes, either out of anger or embarrassment. They knew there was no arguing with Lady Camilla, especially when it came to manners of "friendship". She just wanted the two to get along better, and that was easier said than done. The two tried, of course, for their Lady, but it seemed impossible. Everything Selena liked, Beruka hated, and anything Beruka didn’t show a general disgust to, Selena did. They were almost complete opposites save for the fact that both of them were generally not very happy people most of the time.

“Lady Camilla,” Selena sighed, pulling away from the hug, “With all due respect, can’t you come with us? It would be a much better trip, and this way we can keep on doing our jobs.” Beruka was about to add something in, but Camilla stopped her with a hush.

“I’ll be fine, dears,” the princess said, “I have plenty to do here in the capital. Besides, I get to spend time with my siblings, and there’s nothing I love more than them, besides you two.” Camilla walked past the two of them, going to the opposite end of her room to her closet. The three had met here only because Camilla had called them in, and as such the retainers were not prepared whatsoever. She passed into the closet for a few seconds, and sounds of things being pulled out of cubbies came out. Soon, she emerged, carrying four bags, two in each hand. They were two red bags and two purple ones. Two of the bags were duffel bags, like those used for sports, and two were rolling suitcases.

“I took the liberty of packing for you!” Camilla beamed, giving Beruka the purple bags and Selena the red ones, “Your clothes are in there, along with anything else you might need. Also your weapons!”

“Lady Camilla,” Beruka sighed, getting on one knee and opening the duffel bag, “When did you do this? I carefully inspected all of my things this morning and I didn’t find anything out of place.”

“I had Felicia grab them,” Camilla explained, heading to her desk and rooting through it, “While you were heading up here. She works very fast, thankfully. I wanted this to be a surprise!” Turning back around, she tossed something shiny at Selena, who scrambled to catch it. The redhead looked down at the object in her hands.

“Keys?” she asked, holding the object in two fingers, “Milady, you’re...serious?” 

“Yes, dear,” Camilla replied, “Everything you need is in your suitcases, unless you want to go grab anything else from your rooms. The car is outside, right in front of the castle. I’m leaving the trip up to you, but you’re not coming back until you’ve become better friends, alright?” She went to the two and took their hands, one in each. Beruka grunted, and Selena raised an eyebrow.

“Promise me?” the purple-haired woman asked, “Please?” Beruka and Selena looked to their liege, then to each other. Selena broke first.

“Fine,” she muttered, “I promise, Lady Camilla.”

“I promise too,” Beruka added, “I...we won’t let you down, milady.” Camilla smiled, bringing the two into a hug yet again. She was big on those.

“That’s what I like to hear!” she said, “Now hurry up, you two, your ride is waiting!” Grunting in affirmation, Selena and Beruka left the room, not saying anything to each other as they went to their respective rooms. Both of them wanted to make sure they had everything before they left, although it seemed that they really had just about everything already in their bags. Camilla really did plan for everything, and the two of them picked up a few more things before accidentally meeting in the hallway, almost running into each other. Their rooms were right across from each other, and as such they nearly got into a collision.

The two walked silently down the hall, carrying their bags. Every now and then they passed a steward or servant, but mostly they saw nobody, at least until they reached the castle’s front entrance, right before the roundabout where most vehicles would arrive. The castle’s valet was sitting out front under the entrance roof, sitting at his desk and playing at something on his touchpad. Hearing the two retainers arriving, he set the pad down, standing.

“Oh, you’re here,” he said, “Lady Camilla asked me to wait for you two. The car is fueled up and ready to go.” With a sweep of his arm, the elderly man showed them their vehicle. Neither of them felt too happy about it, with Selena even going so far as to audibly scoff. Instead of one of the big, fancy cars that the Kingdom had in their garage, Lady Camilla had given them an SUV. Just a three row, seven seater monster that was at least one of the newer models. The entire car was black with a purple tint, to symbolize the Nohrian royal family, and it seemed to be a strange new hybrid that had been released. Curious thing, really.

“So, uh,” the valet muttered, “Who will be driving?” Beruka and Selena looked to each other, neither of them really wanting to be the one to do it. The old man, hands behind his back and slightly hunched over, shrugged, going back to his stand and sitting again, opening up his datapad once more. Selena sighed, pulling out the keys and heading to the back, followed by Beruka. Unlocking the back, they noticed that the entire backside, including the last row of seats, was full of things for traveling, including tents, hangers, food, water, and other seemingly unnecessary items. The two tossed in their bags, closed the back door, and went to their seats. Selena hopped into the driver’s seat and Beruka slid in, both of them closing the door at the same time. 

The two sat in silence, Selena not even bothering to put in the key. They had changed from their retainer attire to more casual wear, for this trip. Selena had put on a red shirt with a gray vest, along with jeans and sandals. Beruka, meanwhile, had gone for a black tanktop and white tights, with some sneakers on her feet and her trademark bandana on her head. Neither of them did anything for about a minute, leaving the car still. Thankfully it wasn’t too hot out, or the two would have most definitely suffocated.

“I’m not happy about this,” Selena finally said, putting the key into the ignition, “But I’m doing this for Lady Camilla. Clear?”

“I don’t like this either,” Beruka grunted, “So just get going.”

“Do you have a map?” Selena asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice, “Do we have a plan? Anything? What are we supposed to be doing?” Beruka rolled her eyes, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small black box with a screen. Pressing a button on the dashboard, she clipped the box to a small hook that came out, and turned it on. The small box turned out to be a GPS showing the map of the entire region. Their location was marked as the Nohrian capital, right at the castle.

“Lady Camilla planned it all out,” Beruka sighed, “Every destination is ready. It seems our first one is a campground some ways to the East.” She let the GPS start setting the position, getting ready to take them on their “adventure”. Selena started the car, immediately blasting them with air conditioning set to the max. Yelling, they tried to figure out how to turn it off, finally lowering it to a more reasonable level. 

“Wonderful start,” Selena muttered, pulling the car out of the roundabout and heading out into the streets of Windmire. Since it was mid-morning, they could see other vehicles on the roads, along with townspeople walking around, going about their daily activities. Selena had a firm grip on the steering wheel, while Beruka leaned against the passenger window, staring out into the city. On the sidewalk, she could see all the acts of life that normal city folk went through. She saw people buying from vendors, children playing, and even...lovers together on a bench. That last one hit Beruka hard, and she couldn’t understand why.

The car soon started passing the ringed walls of the city. These had been constructed long, long ago, and nowadays were outfitted with all sorts of new defenses against any danger, particularly the wariness against the Kingdom of Hoshido. Recent newscasts had shown tension between the Kingdoms to be at an all-time low, but there was no telling when and where more issues would arise. Driving past the second ring, Beruka and Selena had to stop the car for a few minutes, as a railroad with a military transport passed by.

“That’s a lot of troops,” Beruka mentioned, finally breaking the silence. Selena didn’t respond, instead choosing to turn on the radio and tuning it to a channel called “Windmire 101.1”. They were playing a track that had become popular some weeks ago, and was now grossly overplayed. Selena enjoyed it, but Beruka hated it. As she went to change the channel, her hand was slapped away by the redhead.

“Hey!” Beruka said, shaking her own hand, “What the hell was that?”

“I’m driving,” Selena told her, “So I choose the radio. Suck it up.” Scoffing, Beruka went back to looking out the window. They were coming up on the last ring wall, seeing the roads and countryside beyond. They could see a flock of birds passing by overhead, squawking as they flew. When they reached the city gates, the flock flew out of sight, but their sounds continued. Beruka looked ahead, seeing the small line of vehicles heading out of the city. A guardpost was set up for customs, stopping everyone entering and leaving the city. The guards wore their usual metal armor and flourishes, and were armed with lances befitting soldiers, but Beruka knew that they were never more than a few feet away from heavier weapons. Whether it be tomes for disguised mages or the more modern ballistic weapons, they were well-prepared for defense, mostly.

“Hey Beruka?” Selena asked, leaning her head towards the assassin while still looking ahead, “I need our documents, they should be in our bags.”

“You couldn’t grab them before?” Beruka scoffed, unbuckling her seatbelt. There was a gap between the two front seats and between the two middle row seats, giving easy access to the rest of the vehicle. Beruka went through the space, finding her bag and Selena’s and finding their passports and exit permits. She hated the picture in her official passport, since she was asked to both remove her headband and move her hair out of her face. Lady Camilla said it was cute, however, so she kept the picture. 

“Documents?” the stout guard asked, as they drove up. Beruka handed Selena the needed items, and she showed them to the guard. He took them for a few seconds, inspecting them before handing them back.

“Thank you ma’am,” the guard said, “Sorry to bother you. We didn’t expect Lady Camilla’s own retainers today.”

“You weren’t supposed to,” Selena muttered, “Thank you.” She took the papers back, handing them to Beruka as she drove through the gates, out onto the main Nohrian highway. The sun shone down over them as they drove the mostly empty road. Beruka reached down to get the seat’s reclining lever, moving herself back until she was lying flat on the seat. Selena looked at her for a second before turning her attention back to the road.

“You know it’s at least three hours to the campsite, right?” Selena asked Beruka, who was now reaching for a book in her bag.

“Yes,” Beruka replied, opening the book (“The Curse of Two Strangers”) and reaching her last spot, where the main characters had just recently met for the first time.

“Are you going to drive at some point,” the redhead continued, annoyed already.

“Probably,” was the response she got, before Beruka engrossed herself in the book. Selena groaned, switching lanes to pass a slower vehicle.

“I can’t wait to be done,” she muttered to herself, driving down the highway to fate.


	2. In Which Selena Snooze and Beruka Loses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selena and Beruka are on the road on behalf of their liege. Their first stop: camping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to crazy college stuff, this chapter's gone up on a weird schedule. I hope I've hooked you guys into the story (and ifI have, please tell your friends!), and to anyone that's reading this alongside my more risque fic, please know that I'm trying to update both as regularly as I can.

A sudden bump caused Selena to jolt awake in the passenger’s seat. She quickly blew and brushed her hair out of her face, wiping some sleep gunk out of her eyes. Her head hurt, and she felt a bit nauseous, much like she usually did when she slept during car rides. Outside, the day was still bright, but she could see tinges of orange on the horizon among the trees. Looking down, she saw that they had come off the highway, and were now on a less-maintained asphalt path. 

“How much longer?” she groaned, resting her head against the window and feeling the car’s vibrations against her skull.

“We’re nearly there,” Beruka replied, focusing on the road ahead. The two had swapped out halfway into the ride, after stopping at a gas station. They didn’t have to refuel yet, but Selena desperately needed to, as she put it, “take a quick break”, which Beruka knew was code for her drinking way too much water before driving. As Selena got into the line, Beruka took a stroll around the store, looking over the snacks and drinks that were typically found in places like this. Her hand passed along the candy aisle, looking at all of the different high sugar intake confections.

“Nohrian Delight,” she muttered, reading off the names of the candies, “Mango Tango, Salt and Sugar…” None of these interested her. She’d tried them all before, hated them all so far. Looking further down, an interesting package caught her eye, and she had to squat down to reach it. There, between an empty box of “Heavy Hitter” gum and regular old gummy dragons, was a candy bar she’d never even heard of before. Reaching into the almost completely full box, she pulled it out, looking over the interestingly colored wrapper.

“Strawberry-Blueberry Blast?” she asked herself quietly. The wrapper was crinkly, and showed off some of the titular fruit exploding into fruit juice. The subtitle read “A taste you never expected!” 

“Interested in the SBB?” a voice beside her asked, making Beruka jump. She’d let her guard down, and when she turned to possibly kill the person that just got the drop on her, she was met by a young man instead, with short brown hair and brown eyes. His skin was tanned, and he wore a white tank top with black shorts, and black sandals. He had the air of a lowlife around him, and Beruka’s nose started to itch just at the sight.

“Maybe,” she said, “Doesn’t seem too popular.”

“I know, right?” the young man said incredulously, “It’s an awesome flavor, I can’t understand why nobody tries it. Seems everyone only likes the one that includes raspberry too, but I just can’t get into it as much.”

Beruka’s eyebrow raised. “I’m sorry,” she wondered aloud, “Do we know each other?”

“Us?” he asked, “No, but I saw you pull in. You and the redhead. Your license said you came from the capital, huh? Must be quite the sight. I’ve never been there, personally. I work here, by the way. The name’s-”

“Don’t care,” Beruka interjected, grabbing two more of the candy bars, “Just ring me up, please. I don’t want to spend any more time with her than I have to. I bet she snores when she sleeps.”

“Who snores when she sleeps?” Selena asked Beruka, having come up behind her. Beruka hated herself now, this being the second time someone had managed to sneak up on her in the past few minutes. She was off her game, and she couldn’t tell if that was because she was mad at the trip or mad at herself.

It was probably the trip.

“Nothing, Selena,” Beruka groaned, “Just...are you done? Can we go?” 

“I’m hungry, actually,” the redhead said, “And I’m going to get some actual food, not that junk like...this.” She brusquely took a candy bar from Beruka’s hands, reading it. The young man, seeing and sensing the hostility, silently excused himself, whistling nonchalantly as he went back to the register.

“Strawberry-Blueberry Blast?” Selena said, suddenly genuinely interested, “Hey, this doesn’t sound too bad, actually. It’s a candy bar...but only with fruit. I thought you usually got the chocolate ones?”

“Usually doesn’t mean always,” Beruka snapped, taking the candy back, “Just go and get something to eat. I’m driving the rest of the way, and we still have a few hours.” Frowning, Selena turned and left, going over to another aisle to get her food while Beruka, after grabbing a bag of gummy dragons, went to the register, where the young man quickly scanned and rang up her order.

“Jeez,” he said, trying to lighten the mood, “Having problems in the relationship?” The face that Beruka gave him was more than enough to convince him that maybe that comment wasn’t necessary. He clammed up completely, letting Beruka finish her transaction in peace and go out the glass doors, leaving the air conditioned building in exchange for a warmer temperature outside. She headed to the car, waiting against the hood for Selena to come out, since she was the one that had the keys. Eventually the other retainer made her way to the vehicle, carrying a hot dog and a bottle of water (“Ice Tribe Water, Always Cold!”).

“What was that about eating junk?” Beruka questioned, a gummy dragon tail sticking out of her mouth. Selena didn’t answer and just tossed her the keys, getting into the car once Beruka unlocked it. In a few minutes they were on the road once more, Beruka occasionally taking some gummies out of the bag and Selena quickly eating the hot dog, neither of them talking. It was about a half hour longer before Selena’s head rested enough so that she fell into a nice slumber.

Now, the two were soon approaching their destination, with Selena feeling extra grumpy due to the rude, if unintentional, awakening. The road gave way to a dirt path, and Selena stared as they passed a large wooden sign simply saying “Welcome to Nohr’s National Park!”

“That’s a boring name,” she mentioned, resting her head on her arms, “They couldn’t at least name it something interesting? Like, some places are named after famous dead people, right? Why not just slap a name like that onto this park?”

“Keep that up,” Beruka hissed, “And it’ll be your name on that sign.” Selena rolled her eyes, blowing a bit of hair off her face. Trees passed by slowly, as the SUV moved over the patted down yet still rough terrain. In a few more minutes, Beruka pulled up to the campsite, noting the lack of other vehicles there. There were only five parking spots anyhow, each lined on either side by white lines and topped off by a log at the end. Beruka stopped the car, pulling the handbrake and taking the key out of the ignition. She got out of the car first, her shoes crunching on the gravel as she headed to the back.

“Is this our site?” Selena asked, getting out of the car and stretching her arms. There was a large wooden sign a ways to the right, showing off the name of the site, called “Bushside”, along with multiple papers detailing recent animal sightings or campsite rules. 

“That’s what the GPS says,” Beruka’s voice called over the sound of the back door opening, “We’re supposed to be here two days and one night, and there’s nothing else. Check the sign, it should have some activities. I’ll go set up the tent.”

“Fine,” Selena whined, starting to go to the sign before stopping, turning back to Beruka, “Hold on, did you say tent?”

“Hm?” the blue-haired retainer muttered, holding a tend bag on her right shoulder, “Yes, tent. One tent. We’re going to have to share.” Selena practically fumed.

“Excuse me?” she asked, walking up and rummaging through the back of the car, “No no no, this is unnacceptable! Surely Lady Camilla put in two tents, because there is no way we’re going to-” Camilla’s words floated back to her, and Selena stopped mid-rummage, smacking her lips.

“Right,” she muttered, “We need to be friends, apparently.” Groaning she moved herself out, crossing her arms. Beruka, during this entire demonstration, simply stood there, holding the tent bag on her right shoulder and grabbing both sleeping bags, a blue and a red one, in her left hand, holding them by the drawstrings.

“I’m just going to...look at the board.” Selena sighed, turning away.

“You do that.” Beruka commented, heading towards the grassy site. The redhead paced over to the board, looking at the different bulletins on it. Her eyes first strayed over the map, seeing the large forest region they were in. The park’s name was at the top, and the bottom showed off pictures and descriptions of famous landmarks and animals in the park. One of the mountain landmarks, titled “Thimble Peak” due to its strange thimble-like shape, was apparently right behind them. Selena turned around, looking up at the ridgeline. There it was, indeed, right next to some jagged cliff edges and some lonely trees, high up in altitude. Speaking of which, Selena soon noticed that she felt thirsty, and attributed to the change in elevation. She’d have to remember to get a bottle of water from the car.

She paid close attention to one of the papers, showing different hiking trails around the park. According to the paper, the only one connected to their campsite would actually take them up to the so-called “Thimble Peak”, and promised breathtaking views. Seeing a little bin next to the paper, Selena opened it up, taking out a map of the region. Opening it up and skipping past the other sections of the park, she found the campsite and located the trailhead. Checking her phone let her know that it was about mid-afternoon, a terrible time to start hiking, according to the bulletin board.

“7 am?” she asked aloud, looking at the rest of the board’s information, “Ugh, I hate waking up that early.” Walking away from the rest of the papers, she headed down the small hill, going to see how Beruka was doing with the tent.

While Selena was perusing the notices, Beruka was skillfully setting up the five corner, four person tent. Clearly, Camilla had spared no expense, as the tent not only was protected from rain and UV rays, but also had a zipped-up door and enough room for them to stand up inside. The only problem Beruka had while setting it up was when she tried pushing a spoke through and accidentally (and annoyingly) got it stuck on the ground, covering it with dirt before she could put it into its pocket. Eventually, the tent, which was purple on the bottom and light purple on top, was pitched.

“She does love that color,” Selena commented, coming over next to Beruka, who was proudly standing before the erected structure, her hands on her hips.

“Yes she does,” Beruka agreed, starting to head back to the car, “Did you find anything interesting to do here?” Selena followed her, opening the map to show off their area.

“Thimble Peak trailhead,” she told Beruka, pointing first at the map and then at the titular peak, “It says it’s about three hours at a moderate pace, and that it’s best to do it in the morning...at 7.” She groaned once more, still thinking about having to wake up so early. Beruka simply shrugged, reaching the SUV and opening the side door, reaching in to grab one of her clothing bags. Selena opened the door on the other side, grabbing her own. Both of them coincidentally closed their doors at the same time, walking back to the tent.

“It’s starting to get dark,” Beruka noted, “We have a lantern and flashlights in the car, and I think I packed some in my bag.” Looking inside, she ruffled through, then stopped, shaking her head. She pulled out a bag of marshmallows, with a sticky note on it saying “Have fun! -C”.

“Funny,” Selena said, “I got a box of marshmallows and chocolate. Evidently, we have to make-”

“S’mores,” Beruka finished, in a quieter voice, “Gods, I haven’t made s’mores since I...since forever.” Selena raised an eyebrow, as the two of them reached the tent. The redhead unzipped the doorway, entering the tent. Her sleeping bag was on the right side, so she placed her bag on the same side, starting to unroll her bag.

“Since forever?” Selena asked Beruka, hoping to continue that topic, “I wouldn’t have thought you were a s’mores person.”

“It was long ago,” Beruka told her, “Well, not that long ago. Lady Camilla showed them to me, some time after she took me in. They were absolutely delicious. I’ll have to start a fire soon anyway.” With both of them ready with their bags, Beruka stood in the tent, heading outside.

“I’m going to get a fire started in the firepit,” she told Selena, pointing to the round fire pit a short ways away from the tent, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Beruka zipped the doorway back up, leaving Selena inside and walking off.

“I’m going to change,” Selena called out, hearing a muffled reply from Beruka. Sighing, she opened her bag, pulling out her winter pajamas. Not taking too long to change, as it was getting dark and it was already cold, she put on her red fleece pants and gray pajama shirt. The shirt depicted the symbol of Nohr, a black symbol on a gray background. Selena had left her phone in the SUV to charge and had instead brought one of the flashlights, switching it on and standing it up on the tent floor, pointing it at the ceiling. The white light created some nice contrast with the purple tent, including creating the girl’s shadow on the wall. After she finished changing, she took the flashlight, putting her shoes back on and stepping out of the tent.

In the dim light, Selena could barely make out Beruka at the firepit. She had gathered plenty of wood and was forming a sort of cone shape, making the sticks stand up while she filled the bottom with tinder. The assassin was kneeling in the dirt of the fire ring, with stones making a circle around the pit about three feet away from the center and four logs around the pit, one for each cardinal direction.

“Pajamas already?” Beruka asked, “It can’t be past 6:30.” 

“It’s already getting dark,” Selena responded, “And when it gets dark, it means I’m probably going to sleep soon. How’s the fire going?” As Selena finished the sentence, Beruka was holding a flame to the tinder. Her lighter had been a gift to her from Niles, after one of his so-called “excursions”. It was a black lighter with an image of a skull on the bottom half, with the top half showing a top hat. Whenever it was opened, it looked as if the hat tipped and fire came off of the skull’s top. Niles thought it was funny, and Beruka had to admit that it was interesting.

Thanks to the flame on the tinder, the fire rose quickly. Soon it had become a small inferno, and the two of them could hear the wood crackling and popping. Selena moved back to the tent, bringing the s’more materials with her. The sun was completely over the horizon now, leaving the campsite lit only by the fire and the moonlight. Beruka grabbed two sticks, wiping the ends off with her clothes and tossing one to Selena, who caught it. They sat on the logs around the fire, each of them seated on the opposite end, so when Beruka tossed her the stick it passed right over the fire, leaving it a bit warm.

“Are you going to want some?” Beruka asked, already bringing out a marshmallow to fit onto the stick. Selena sighed, standing up and walking around the fire. Some smoke blew into her face, making her cough and clear her eyes before she got to the other log, sitting next to Beruka, with the s’more materials in between them. The blue-haired girl handed her a marshmallow, and Selena took it, placing it on her stick. The two sat in silence, roasting their confections over the red flames. 

“I have a question,” Selena mentioned, turning her marshmallow to toast both sides, “Didn’t Lady Camilla pack a fire tome? I could’ve sworn I saw some tomes in the back of the car.”

“So?” Beruka retorted, “I don’t know how to use them, do you? As far as I know, I don’t have a magical bone in my body.” The redhead had to admit that she was right, and shrugged.

“Why’d she pack them, then?” Her marshmallow was turning golden brown, so she moved it away from the fire, grabbing a graham cracker, “We have our weapons, what are we going to use tomes for?” 

“Shits and giggles,” Beruka answered, keeping her confection near the heat, “Or maybe for trade. I know there’s some places in the Kingdom that still aren’t open to the idea of paper or electronic currency. Tomes can be very valuable in places like that.” Her marshmallow suddenly caught fire, and she quickly brought it to her face, blowing at the flames until they went out, leaving the top of her marshmallow a black, charred mess. Selena giggled seeing that.

“Want another one?” she asked, reaching for the chocolate to finish her s’more.

“I’m good,” Beruka grumbled, starting to set up the s’more. She really felt like this could be a metaphor for most of her life, but as she went to reach for the rest of the s’more bits, still staring at her blackened food, she felt her hand lose around something soft and slightly cold. The realization hit her like a truck, and she blushed.

“Um…” Selena said, also blushing, as she looked down at her accidental handhold. Beruka didn’t turn her head, so neither of them saw exactly how much redder their faces were. They both let go at the same time, turning away and finishing their s’mores in secret, leaving crumbs all over the log and ground. Neither of them said anything, staying awkwardly quiet. 

“So, uh,” Beruka muttered, starting a sentence.

“Yeah…” Selena half-replied, trying not to bring attention to the uncomfortable situation.

“I’m going to change,” Beruka decided, standing up, “Can you douse the fire?” Selena thought it strange to do that so soon, but given what just happened she let it go. She was afraid that Beruka was weirded out by what just happened, but she couldn’t figure out why she herself cared. As the assassin unzipped the tent, entered, and zipped it back up, Selena grinded her palm against her forehead, trying to figure out exactly what the hell was wrong with her right now. Frustrated, she stood, turning on her flashlight to go look for a spigot or some other water source. Hopefully they had a bucket.

Inside the tent, meanwhile, Beruka was shivering, half from the cold and half from what just happened. She had no idea exactly what was making her act like this, but she hated it. Yet, strangely, she had actually liked the feel of Selena’s hand. Lady Camilla held Beruka’s hand often for various reasons, so it wasn’t like it was an alien concept to her. This time was different, though. This time, Beruka had felt something strange, something that she couldn’t place. She had to shake it off once she heard the hiss of water being dumped on a fire. Seems like Selena managed to find a bucket and a water source. Beruka quickly set her clothes aside and put on her pajamas, which were short purple boxers and a white tank top. She really didn’t own any longer or warmer sleeping wear, and in hindsight she should have gotten some, because her teeth were almost chattering.

The night was quiet, broken by the chirping of insects and the crunch of Selena’s shoes against the dirt as she walked back to the tent. She took off her shoes, unzipping and rezipping the tent flap as she got in, leaving her shoes next to Beruka’s at the front of the tent. The other girl had already slipped into her sleeping back, and was turned facing the side of the tent, away from Selena. The redhead couldn’t help but look at her now. She seemed so much more defenseless than she usually was. Even when she slept, Beruka seemed always on guard, but now she looked...calm. 

Dismissing it as nothing, Selena got into her own sleeping back, struggling as her feet kept getting stuck on the side until she managed to push all the way in, shivering as her feet pushed against the cold zipper at the bottom of the bag. She was glad her pajamas were longer and warmer, but at the same time still tried to fit as much of herself as she could into the bag. Her hands rested on her chest as she stared at the roof. The tent was made of a special see-through rain resistant polymer, so Selena was able to look up at the stars, blinking still against the black sky. Her hand, somehow, still felt warm from where it met Beruka’s, and she took a look at it. There was nothing different about it, yet something felt off. 

For some reason, her thoughts turned to her mother. Once, she had taught her everything about the constellations, about the night sky. Now, Selena couldn’t help but smile, as she turned her head and closed her eyes, facing the back of Beruka’s head.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad after all,” she thought, “I hope.” With a background chorus of crickets and far off owl hoots, Selena followed Beruka into dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this chapter and the next were going to be the same, but when I was about 4k words in I decided I wanted to get a chapter out already, so I uploaded this one and cut the rest for another chapter, so look forward to that.
> 
> Comments are always welcome, and I'll see you guys next time!


	3. In Which Deer are Adorable, and There are Sights to Behold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second and final part of Selena and Beruka's camping trip is a hike to the top of a nearby landmark known as Thimble Peak. While not a very long hike, it is still, nonetheless, life-changing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is, like I mentioned in L&L, dedicated to my friend who was caught in a car accident. Again, he's fine, doing well, but I still promised this would be dedicated to him.

Selena was having one of those dreams again.

There she was, in front of the largest building she’d ever seen. The walls stretched up beyond the clouds, and no matter if she turned left or right, she couldn’t see the end. It was just bricks upon bricks upon bricks, as far as the eye could see. The sky was orange, and the clouds were blue. It was a sickly color combination, and she hated it. There were two massive doors before her, each as big as a castle. They opened to the sides, and she walked into the darkness.

She couldn’t see a foot in front of her. Her hair bounced at her sides, still in its ponytail, but it wasn’t red anymore. It had turned pale white, as if it lost all pigment. In fact, she wasn’t even wearing her usual armor. She wore loose white robes that trailed behind her. Her hand went to her sword belt, but it was missing. There was nothing there except air.

She tried to say something, walking further into the darkness, but she was speechless. Torches lined the walls, strangely, even though the world was electric now. She couldn’t see the end before her, and when she looked back, she couldn’t see the entrance. The torch fire went through every color of the rainbow, and it was really starting to hurt her eyes. She tried to block the light with her hand, but it cast no shadow. It wasn’t translucent, but it also wasn’t opaque. It just didn’t stop the light.

Her pace quickened, although the hallways never shortened. If anything, it lengthened. The lights became fewer and far in between, and she started to feel fear. Her walk turned into a jog, and soon into a full sprint. Her head darted from side to side, but there was nothing to see. She couldn’t feel her heartbeat, and at one point she stopped breathing. There was nothing in the darkness. It was a vice, coming down all around her and threatening to choke her and extinguish her. She tripped on something and flew forward, a noiseless scream coming from her mouth as she tumbled through the air, getting rolled up in her robes and rolling on the sleek, clean, tiled ground. She didn’t stop sliding, and now the hallway had turned into a downward slide.

Up was down. Down was up. She slid for forever, it seemed, until she stopped suddenly. She felt no pain, but managed to sit up. There was a spotlight before her. A colorful spotlight, much like the torches before, was there, shining down on something. From this distance, it seemed coiled and dangerous, like a snake, and she refused to go near it. She didn’t have a choice, however, as her legs started moving. Soon she stood before the item, reaching down to touch it. Her hand reached out, getting closer and closer to the thing. It was some sort of cloth. Black, long, and thin. Not a scarf, not a belt...it was…

“What are you doing?”

Selena eyes shot open, and her breath hitched in her throat. She remembered where she was: inside a sleeping bag, inside a tent, at a campsite. With Beruka, her retaining partner, who seemed to always be a thorn in her side.

And whose cheek was currently being held by Selena’s outstretched hand.

“Gah!” she yelled, sitting up suddenly and skidding herself, and her sleeping bag to the opposite side of the tent. This was a terrible decision, however, as the condensation on the outside of the tent quickly passed through the tent’s “skin” once she pressed against it, drenching her back with dew. She shivered at the cold touch, and groaned, slamming her hands on her bag in disgust. Beruka, meanwhile, was still laying in her bag, head resting on her duffel bag, which doubled as a pillow. The sun had risen, but the sky outside was still just barely breaking out of the dawn. The inside of the tent was a nice mix of colors, which Selena was too annoyed to currently appreciate.

“W-why were you so close?” Selena asked Beruka, trying to shift blame, “What happened to personal space, huh?” Beruka, rolling her eyes like usual, sat up. She didn’t have her headband on, so her blue hair fell over her face and covered her eyes, until she pushed it out of the way with the back of her hand. She leaned forward as she sat, staying there for a few seconds before standing up, taking the bag with her and letting it drop once she was on her feet.

“You shifted in your sleep a lot,” the assassin explained, kneeling down to her duffel bag, taking out a new pair of clothes, “I stayed exactly where I was last night, but you woke me up at least three times. You talk a lot.” Selena scoffed and turned away from her, crossing her arms in indignation.

“I do not talk,” Selena retorted, emphasizing the third word, “Not in my sleep, at least. You probably made it all up!” Beruka didn’t bother responding, instead starting to remove her shirt, having taken out her clothes for the day. Selena turned back, wondering why she was so quiet, and yelped, shielding her eyes and turning away again.

“What are you doing?!” she cried, “Don’t you have any decency?!” The blue-haired girl looked back at Selena and sighed, fully removing her shirt and pants, getting dressed quickly. She put on a pair of cargo pants, olive green ones with four different pockets, and a white shirt without any design on it. She looked ready to go to the army, and once she tied her headband she looked sort of like a military spec ops soldier. At least, that’s what Selena thought, as she found herself sneaking a peek at the assassin as she was changing.

“What the hell?” the redhead thought to herself pretending she hadn’t just done that, “Why did I just...oh, forget it.” She started to struggle out of the bag as Beruka was folding hers up, swiftly rolling it and stuffing it back in its carry bag. By the time Selena had rubbed her eyes, kneeled up, and grabbed her clothes, Beruka was already all set, getting out of the tent while carrying all her things.

“I’m going to put these in the car,” she told Selena, “Hurry up. We have a hike to get to and we’re burning daylight.” She unzipped and rezipped the tent flap, leaving Selena alone with her thoughts. As she undressed and started to dress once more, she pondered her dream. Never before had it felt so vivid. Every time she dreamt about this, which wasn’t really that often, it was often a similar scenario. There was a massive fortress and a neverending hallway with torches. Never before had there been a slide. The torches had never changed color. And she had never felt scared. Perhaps there was some sort of message behind it, but she just didn’t care enough to find out.

In a few minutes, she stepped out of the tent, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a red shirt, one with the symbol of a sword and shield. It was a gift to her from Laslow, who told her that he’d “love to see her with it, or perhaps without”. That earned him a cheeky smile and a cheekier punch to the gut (Selena didn’t know this, but he was grateful for that somehow). Beruka was coming back from the car, holding the tent bag. They crossed paths, Beruka quickly handing over the keys and Selena catching them in her free hand, her other one holding her luggage. The air felt sharp, as the cold of the dawn struck her. She didn’t feel that chilly, thankfully, despite the lack of warm clothing. She easily adjusted to cold temperatures, which did wonders for her at high altitudes such as this. 

Reaching the car, she opened the backseat door on the driver’s side, tossing in her bags without a care. As she shut the door, she looked down to the campsite, where Beruka was already three quarters of the way through packing up the tent. The way she did it so efficiently made Selena feel something strange in her mind. For a second her brain felt like it was heating up, and she knocked herself on the head as a way of telling it to knock it off. Thinking about the rest of the day, she went to the back of the car, opening it and rummaging around inside, finally pulling out two hiking backpacks. 

As Beruka was bagging up the tent and bringing it back to the car, Selena was looking through her backpack, which she knew was hers by the fact that her name was literally embroidered onto the smallest pocket. It was most likely Lady Camilla’s work, especially since Beruka’s had received the same treatment. The backpacks weren’t that big, only covering about half of her back, and they weren’t that full, either. There were two reusable metal water bottles, one on each side in their own little pocket; a first aid kit, containing bandages, tweezers, and even insect bite salve; a flashlight; an emergency raincoat; matches and flint; trail mix. Everything needed for a hiking trip through a park, or possibly for an intensive wilderness survival course. Knowing Lady Camilla, she just didn’t want them to be unprepared for anything that might happen, and that meant anything plus some exaggeration. 

“Got everything?” Beruka grunted, tossing the bagged tent into the back, “We’re burning daylight. Let’s get hiking.” Taking the backpack from Selena, Beruka slung it over her shoulders, clicking the straps in front together. Selena scoffed, doing the same but with much less fervor. She closed the back door of the SUV, locking it with the keys and pocketing them. Beruka was already leaving, and Selena had to jog a little to catch up to her. The blue-haired girl located a long stick on the ground, about half her height and an inch wide. She picked it up, not missing a step, and continued walking with it, pressing the end into the ground with every left step. Selena was left walking behind her, holding her own backpack straps.

The beginning of the path was calm and simple. The trodden grass soon gave way to dirt, as they passed through a dry riverbed. Selena noticed how her feet crunched against the sand and rocks, and couldn’t help but wonder how this place looked when there was water. She pictured fish swimming in the stream, and the campsite probably much more full of people. Since it was the off season, there wasn’t much activity out here, at least not at this campsite. They moved off the riverbed and continued up the trail, which started to climb slowly. Every now and then an incline consisted of stepping up a few rocks, one of which was so large that Selena had to use her hands to brace herself against the wall of the hill beside her, while Beruka, ever the nimble one, easily hopped up.

As they rounded a curve, about fifteen minutes into the hike, the trees overhead cleared, and they stepped into a large clearing between two hills. Selena could see Thimble Peak now, unobscured by the treeline. While the landmark itself was behind them, the path was meant to curve around so as to not go straight up the mountain. Just now, in fact, they were reaching the first of many switchbacks, where the trail goes back and forth up the mountain, creating an easier climb than just tackling the mountain head-on.

“Hold on,” Beruka said quietly, holding out her arm to make Selena stop. They had gone past the second curve of the switchbacks and were heading up the last one for this area. Beruka pointed off towards the other hillside, the one without a trail, and Selena followed her finger. Standing on a large rock, looking directly at them, stood a young deer, flapping its ears and blinking. It stayed there and just stared. Selena’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth in awe.

“It’s so cute!” she whispered, “Look at its ears!” Beruka side-eyed the redhead, intrigued at her reaction. Selena noticed, and she quickly brought her arms down.

“I mean,” she scoffed, tossing her hair back, “So what? It’s just a stupid deer.” Beruka smiled, shaking her head and continuing up the path. Selena looked to the deer again, then followed her, reaching back to grab her water bottle. As she took a swig, the deer hopped off the rock, bounding away from them. 

After about an hour, the two of them stopped for a small water break. They were on the side of the cliff overlooking the small valley with the campsites. Sitting on two different rocks, they could see not only their SUV through the trees, but looking further out they could just barely make out the Capitol, off in the horizon.

“Look at that,” Selena said, leaning back on the rock and holding her water bottle, “All of that is Nohr. Which way is Hoshido?”

“That way,” Beruka said, pointing off to the East. She was snacking on a little of her trail mix, scooping a little bit out and eating it. They sat there in silence, resting their legs as they looked out upon the landscape.

Overhead, Selena heard a caw, one which made both of them look up.There in the sky, flying against the big blue yonder, a hawk passed them over. Gliding around without flapping its wings, the hawk flew in a few circles, before flying away, leaving a hawk’s cry in its wake.

“You know,” Beruka suddenly said, making Selena jump, “I think I’m starting to enjoy this trip.” Selena looked at her like she was crazy, but Beruka shrugged.

“I mean it,” she emphasized, “Camping and hiking is just the start. We’ve got so much planned that I don’t even know what we’re going to do with it all, and it’s my job to know that!” She threw out an exasperated sigh before Selena could say anything, and stood up, slinging her backpack again. Nodding ahead on the trail, she set off, leaving Selena to scramble for her things and follow her.

The trail didn’t get treacherous now so much as it became steeper and more intensive. There were several times both Selena and Beruka had to catch themselves after slipping on some loose dirt. The altitude was getting thinner as well, and Selena especially began to feel the effects. Thankfully, the trail mix helped to soothe the pains she was getting in her stomach, but she was still worried that she might slip. These worries were realized when, following Beruka up a rocky incline, Selena’s foot slipped on some loose gravel on top of one of the rocks. She slipped, falling forward and putting her hands out to stop her fall. Though she didn’t do any major damage, her knee hit the rock hard, and her hands ended up scraped on the rocks.

“Selena!” Beruka yelled in alarm, turning back to her. The redhead seethed, slowly standing up before looking at her hands and wincing. Beruka took her hands and brought them out, seeing the damage. The soft, fleshy bits of Selena’s palms were dirty with some white lines from the scrape, indicating nothing major, but one cut in particular on her left hand was starting to turn red, trickling out some blood. Selena couldn’t register the pain, however. She was too distracted by both the fact that Beruka genuinely sounded concerned, and that she was currently holding her hands.

“I’m glad you’re not too hurt,” Beruka sighed, pulling out her water bottle and uncapping it, “This is going to sting.” She poured water on top of Selena’s hands, making her hiss in pain, gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes. Beruka cleaned the grime and dirt off the palms, along with a little bit of blood, then wiped them clean with a tissue from her bag. Selena turned her head away, but opened one eye when Beruka was pulling out antiseptic spray. Beruka shook the little bottle, aimed it at the cut, and sprayed.

“Ow!” Selena yelled, trying to wrench her hand from Beruka’s grip. The assassin wasn’t having it, clamping her hand on Selena’s wrist and holding it.

“Calm down,” Beruka ordered, reaching for a band-aid, “If it stings, it’s doing its job. Hold still.” She placed the bandage expertly on the cut, covering it completely. Selena sighed, flexing her hand once Beruka let go of it. It still stung, but less than before. 

“We’re almost there,” Beruka assured her, “I bet the view is incredible.” Selena nodded, and followed Beruka again, but couldn’t push something out of her mind. The way that Beruka had suddenly started to act friendlier seemed much too strange for it to be out of the goodness of her heart, yet she felt no ill intentions from it. But there was no way that Beruka was actually worried, was there?

The last half hour was easily the hardest part of the climb, but Selena knew it was almost over, something made clear by Beruka’s excited last charge up. Selena was getting much too tired, and Beruka shot ahead, reaching the top before her.

“Selena, hurry!” she called, “This view is incredible!” Selena huffed, finally reaching the top. Thimble Peak was a massive rock formation on top of the mountain, and the last few steps were made on indentations in the rock that seemed almost mined out with a pickaxe. When she finally crawled her way up, however, she felt herself lose her breath at the sight.

It was as if they could see the entire continent. They weren’t high enough to be above the clouds, but the horizon looked hazy and distant. Towns and cities were barely visible, passed over by the incredible amount of greenery and life. Beruka stood near the edge of Thimble Peak, and Selena walked up beside her. Both of them couldn’t contain a smile, with Selena scrambling for her phone to take pictures. They were transfixed on the sight, and it almost felt like they could hear the music that would play over such an impactful scene. Selena lowered the phone and put it in her right pocket. 

“You can see everything,” Beruka breathed, “It’s beautiful…” Selena looked at the other retainer, who was definitely enjoying herself. Never before had she seen her so happy. While she had caught the occasional smile, she’d never seen this amount of pure joy radiating from the girl. And along with that, never before had she seen Beruka intentionally move her hair out of the way to see something. The sight of it warmed her heart for some strange reason, and what she did next was too strange for her.

She willingly, and without being held hostage, took Beruka’s hand.

And the other girl didn’t protest it.

Selena turned her view back to the sight before her. She didn’t really care what the next trip was, even though now she felt more excited for it. Now, at this moment, for some inexplicable reason, she felt happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a helluva road trip, ain't it?
> 
> Thank you for reading! I'm sorry for the slow upload speed, life and school have been hectic and crazy, but I'm doing my best to balance it and writing! Expect an L&L chapter soon, and have a good day!


	4. In which complimentary soaps aren't edible and emotions are confusing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two retainers, following their fun hike, head to the next part of their trip: their first day at a luxury hotel. Meanwhile, Selena has some issues to think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better late than never, am I right? School has been a mess and so has life, so I'm glad I finally got a chapter out. Don't worry if you're waiting for L&L, the next chapter for that is coming soon as well!

Sadly, the walk down from the mountaintop was anything but magical.

“I said I’m SORRY!” Selena furiously yelled after Beruka, who was practically stomping down the hillside, “It was a spur of the moment thing! I don’t know what I was thinking!”

“Well there’s the problem!” Beruka yelled back, waving her arms but not bothering to turn around, “You don’t seem to ever think, so apparently it’s okay to touch me without permission!”

“It was a HAND-HOLD,” the redhead mocked, “I wasn’t doing anything more than holding your hand! It wasn’t because I wanted to, anyway, it was an accident!” Beruka wasn’t listening, and didn’t listen for the entire rest of the way down to the car, no matter how much Selena yelled at her. Every single organism in that canyon was able to hear her yelling and nagging about how Beruka needed to stop being such a “stuck-up bitch”, and every organism wished it hadn’t had to listen.

Once they finally reached the car, Beruka finally turned around to face Selena, without saying a word. The two were caught in a staring standoff, and Selena, despite hating such childish games, was determined not to lose.

“Unlock the car,” Beruka seethed through gritted teeth, “You have the keys.” Selena hated that she was right, and kept her frown up until she finally unlocked the car, and they both tossed their backpacks inside at the same time, having them collide in the air before landing on the pile of items. Beruka slammed the back door shut, making the hairs on the back of Selena’s neck stand, and went to the passenger’s side seat, opening the door, getting in, and slamming that one shut too.

“Typical,” Selena muttered, heavy disdain in her voice. Going for the driver’s seat, she got in, adjusting the seat position and mirrors. 

“We’re going to a hotel,” Beruka said flatly, looking through the GPS, “Here. Drive.” She clicked the GPS back into its carrier, letting the robotic female voice tell them to back up and drive out of the park. Selena gripped the wheel, took a deep breath to calm herself, and put the car into reverse. The bumpy dirt path bounced them around until she got the car into position, then it bumped them around as she drove forward, all the way until the dirt road became pavement, and they were out on the road again. 

As they approached the gas station from last night, Selena genuinely considered stopping to get gas again, but between her sour mood, her dislike of that guy from yesterday, and the fact that the car had a tank that was almost full, she decided to drive past. Her stomach grumbled in response, but she knew it was just boredom. They’d already eaten breakfast at the campsite, anyway. 

Thinking about the guy from yesterday made her angrier. She reminded him too much of Laslow. He had an aura of cockiness and a look that said “ladies, don’t worry about me”, which immediately made all women around him worry tenfold. There was something about him that definitely put her off. Something just felt weird, almost dangerous. She was certain that Beruka had noticed it too, and if she didn’t, then she wasn’t doing her job properly.  
Now, on the highway, Selena actually bothered to try and speak to Beruka again. After twenty minutes of silence, she cleared her throat, and the assassin turned to see what was going on.

“So,” Selena started, looking ahead as she tried to think of a topic, “Do you….like….music?” Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was killing herself for that question. Beruka, meanwhile, just stared at her, then sighed.

“Yes, actually,” the blue-haired girl admitted, “I actually like things. I’m allowed to. There’s some music I like.”

“Let me guess,” Selena said, changing lanes to pass a slow blue sedan, “Heavy Metal? Hard Rock? Screamo? I’m sure there’s some sort of metal in there.”

“I’m actually a fan of Pop.”

Selena’s head whipped around faster than a speeding bullet.

“Get out,” she said, unable to hide her grin, “You’re into Pop music? You, of all people!”

“Eyes on the road,” Beruka muttered, already blushing, “Yes, I’m into Pop. I like it, okay? It’s not a crime to like a certain kind of music, after all.”

“Well, no,” Selena admitted, “But you?! I expected you to be into music that talked about killing people all the time! Wait, do you like that new band, Ice Tribe Boyz?”

“Not...really?” the assassin cringed, “They feel too upbeat. I prefer some of the slower songs.”

“There it is,” the redhead concluded, “You like grunge rock, then. Or, well, maybe alternative pop?” Beruka was starting to look more than a bit annoyed.

“Why are there so many genres?” she asked, exasperated, “I like Pop, that’s it! Nothing more about it!” Beruka crossed her arms, pouting, and looked away, suddenly becoming very interested in a passing truck. Selena, for the life of her, couldn’t understand exactly how she pressed Beruka’s buttons, but she opted not to try any more. Knowing her, she might very well break the windshield just to make Selena shut up.

The ride was awkward ten minutes later, as they drove into and got stuck in a major traffic jam. Judging from the smoke up ahead, there must have been a terrible accident, and so they were slowed to a crawl, along with the rest of the highway. Selena kept a hand on the wheel, resting her head with the other one. Beruka, seemingly tired of the silence, clicked the button to turn on the radio. Immediately, it blasted out music, making both of them jump and almost causing them to crash into the car in front of them. Beruka hurriedly lowered the audio down to an acceptable level, leaving the two of them breathing heavily, having been startled by the sudden intrusion of noise. They stared straight ahead, not talking, eyes wide open.

“Okay,” Selena said slowly, “Let’s...not do that again.”

“Agreed,” Beruka replied, slumping back into her chair. As they continued to trudge through the slowly dispersing traffic jam, they could see the source of the smoke to the left. A car had, indeed, turned over, and was belching black smoke as it burned. Selena’s mouth dropped at the sight, and she tried to stay at a normal speed until they got out. Beruka was looking at it too, but she wasn’t paying attention to the wreck. Her attention was on the ambulance next to the police cars and fire truck.

“At least they made it out,” she whispered, just loud enough for Selena to hear. A man and a woman, both of them in their early twenties, were sitting on the back bumper of the ambulance, as some Paramedics ran tests on them. There didn’t seem to be anyone else in the crash, and there was only one vehicle, meaning that either the car flipped on its own, or it was a hit and run. Before Beruka could properly scan the scene to determine for herself, the jam had cleared, and they were away. Selena had noticed Beruka’s comment, however, but chose to talk to her about it later. Right now, she just wanted to take a day to rest in the hotel, and plan their trip from there.

It was about an hour more before they reached the hotel. It was a fancy Nohrian chain known as “Bowers”, with a good reputation for customer service. The hotel was situated in the city of AllShine, so named because of the discovery here that was able to better Nohr’s climate, transforming it from a veritable hellscape into a halfway decent land. Of course, it didn’t match the splendor of Hoshido, but considering its position it was just alright for those who, prior to the discovery, were forced to live indoors or underground. One of the city’s main attractions, in fact, was the National Laboratory, where the research was carried out. That was their stop tomorrow, and neither of them were particularly excited.

Selena drove them up to the valet, stopping right in the designated square. The valet, a young woman with black hair wearing a bellboy’s outfit, took the keys from her and handed her their Valet card. The two retainers brought out only what they felt would be necessary, that being their suitcases and an empty cooler, meant to be filled with groceries, so that they wouldn’t have to eat out as much.

“Welcome to the Bowers,” the concierge, a kindly old man with a long white beard, said, “May I have your reservation name?” Selena looked to Beruka, who shrugged. The redhead sighed.

“It should be under Camilla?” she guessed, hoping that she was right. The man typed some things into the computer, then nodded.

“Selena and Beruka?” he asked, earning a nod from the girls, “Yes, Lady Camilla made a reservation with a special request that you be given the premium package. You are in one of our premium suites, and that comes with free access to the spa and restaurant, along with the normal hotel amenities. Here are your keys, your room is 9874, on the top floor.” The concierge handed them two keycards with the logo of the chain on them. Selena took them, thanked the man, and headed to the elevators with Beruka following her. Beruka pressed the button going up, and they stepped into the elevator once it dinged, sliding open to reveal the polished mirror interior.

Their ride up was punctuated by the soft music coming from the elevator speakers. They stood in the center of the elevator, and Beruka tilted her head, trying to listen to the music. It sounded familiar.

“Hey,” Selena said first, “This sounds a lot like-”

“Ice Tribe Boyz,” Beruka groaned, covering her face with her hands, “Gods, why did I have to be stuck in here with you.” Selena smirked, crossing her arms and mentally going through the lyrics to the toned-down music. Thankfully for Beruka, the elevator ride ended soon after that, and they got off, Beruka walking a bit faster than Selena. Once they arrived at the room itself, after walking through a rather nauseating corridor where the carpet was a strange mix of orange, green, and purple, Selena opened the door with her keycard, swiping it and letting themselves in.

The room was less a room and more of an apartment. A massive window covered the wall, letting them look out onto the countryside. Since it was still daytime, they could see for miles. It wasn’t quite as good as the moutnain top, but the sight was still breathtaking. There was a living room with a few couches, and a large flat screen TV on a wall that separated the kitchend from the living room. Te entire roomhad an almost wave-like look to it, with barely any edges and mostly rounded corners. The kitcken was sleek and modern, with all of the necessary amenities, and the dining room had a table with four chairs, all made of what seemed to be mahogany. There was a strange painting on the wall just next to the entrance, one that depicted a disembodied hand clutching a sword, smashing through an axe on a red background. Neither of them really paid attention to it.

“I need a shower,” Selena said, heading to the bedroom door, “I feel absolutely disgusting.” She opened the double doors to the room, then yelped. Beruka, confused, walked up beside her and looked in.

“You’re kidding me,” she said, staring into the large bedroom, “There’s only one bed?!” 

Indeed, all the room had was a single King-sized bed, with orange sheets to match the strange color design of the hotel. On either side of the bed were nightstands with lights and outlets, and the right nightstand had a telephone for any necessities. The bed was directly in front of the door, so much so that anyone could walk in and look right at someone laying in the bed. There was some furniture on different sides of the room, including a shelf with a standing flat screen TV, albeit smaller than the one in the living room.

“This is ridiculous,” Selena stated, even as Beruka walked in and tossed her duffel bag on the bed, setting up her suitcase on the floor at the foot of the bed, “One bed? I can’t do this. I refuse to sleep on the couch, either. Oh, I can’t believe Lady Camilla would do this. I’m going downstairs and asking for a new room, I can’t deal with this.”

“Would you shut up?” Beruka groaned, already laying out her things, “So we have to share a bed, calm down. You take that side, I take this side. I’m going to shower.” The assassin grabbed her toiletries bag and walked into the bathroom without a second thought. Selena was about to after her, until Beruka stepped back into frame, holding a small pink object between her fingers. 

“Look!” she said, actually smiling, “They give you little candies in the bathroom!” Selena’s heart skipped, and before she could run at Beruka and tell her to stop, she had already popped the small thing into her mouth, and promptly spit it out in a few seconds.

“Blegh!” Beruka yelled, running back and spitting into the sink. She poured out some water into a provided glass cup, swirling it in her mouth to try and wipe out the taste. Selena groaned, slapping herself in the face as she entered the bathroom to see it.

“You don’t get out much, do you?” she asked Beruka, “Because that was so obviously a small thing of soap. How do you not notice that?” Beruka’s evil eye was enough to make Selena roll her eyes and step back.

“Whatever,” she nagged, “I’m going to the pool. Meet me down there if you want.” Shutting the door to the bathroom, Selena went back to her bag on the bed, scarfing through it until she found her swimsuit: a two piece, simple red one. As she was finishing putting it on, she heard the shower start running, and smiled at the thought that maybe Beruka would end up drinking the shampoo, thinking it to be free juice or something like that. Grabbing a towel from her bag, she wrapped it around herself, taking her keycard and leaving the room, taking the elevator down to the indoor pool.

Several minutes later, she was already doing laps. The pool was not big by any means, only about twenty feet by twenty feet. The deepest end reached Selena’s neck while standing on the bottom, and the little “jacuzzi” off a ways from the pool was a smaller, round pool. Selena swam from one end of the pool to another, finally ending up finishing about ten laps before resting, floating on her back in the middle of the pool. Despite it being mid-day, the pool area was empty save for her. While floating, Selena had her eyes closed, but she was able to hear the sound of the door opening, and someone coming in.

“Great,” she thought, “Either she’s come down to bother me, or someone else is here to bother me.” She didn’t open her eyes, simply listening to who it could be. The footsteps were too heavy to be Beruka, but knowing how angry that girl could get, Selena wouldn’e be surprised if she was stomping in.

“Hello there,” said a voice, “Mind if I join you, beautiful?” It was a man’s voice, because of course it was. If Selena didn’t know any better, she’d say that Laslow had followed them there, because that sounded exactly like a line he would use. Groaning, she opened her eyes, letting her feet touch the floor so she could turn to see who just walked in. Although she didn’t say anything, her first thought was, “Oh hey, he’s actually pretty cute.”

The guy was young, probably around her age. He had the look of an important person around him, as if he was a lawyer or businessman. He had medium length black hair and rather piercing blue eyes, and he wore a black swimsuit. And he was buff, she could tell that he worked out. She had to almost physically restrain herself from biting her lip.

“Hmph,” she said, pulling out her usual tricks, “Sure. Go ahead.” Even though he was nice to look at, she knew his type, that being someone who always got what he wanted, whether it was material goods or people. He had an air of snobbishness around him, one that she could detect all the way from the pool. She rested against the side of the pool, her arms crossed, and lo and behold, he stepped into the pool and swam up next to her, laying his arm on the pool’s edge to face her.

“So,” he said, “What’s a girl like you doing alone in such a nice pool?” Ah, Selena thought, he was going with the question pickup line. She’d heard it most often, and she was really disappointed. She was certain that this time would be different, but evidently her intuition had failed her.

“Swimming,” she said, looking at her nails instead of him, “What else would I be doing?” That earned a chuckle from him, but at least he wasn’t trying to move any closer. Of course, that didn’t earn him any points, considering how it was just basic human decency.

“I bet you swim a lot,” he said, winking at her, “You have quite the body for it.” A body comment already? Granted, Selena wasn’t always in her swimsuit when guys tried to flirt with her, but come on. Only two comments in and he was already disqualified.

“Eyes to yourself, buddy,” she snapped, making him flinch, “Come on. Back away.” The guy seemed angry at that, but Selena wasn’t flinching. All she had to do was pull out her sword and…

...right. She was in the pool. Now she started to worry. 

“Listen, babe,” he said, trying not to sound angry, “I’m a big shot lawyer, I’m in town for a conference. What say we...get to know each other? I promise you, I can buy you anything your pretty little face could want.” Her eye twitched. This guy was definitely overstepping his boundaries. She finally turned to him, clearly showing her disgust in her face, hoping he’d take the hint.

“I said, back off,” she growled, “I don’t want your petty little bullcrap, pal. Back. Off.” That got him angry, and he got closer. Selena didn’t move an inch.

“Listen, bitch,” he whispered, “You don’t know who I am, but if you keep talking to me like that, I swear to-”

“She said back off!” screamed another voice, and Selena backed up, because the guy went flying to the side into the pool. Selena looked up, seeing Beruka standing there in a one-piece purple swimsuit, foot extended, her face even angrier than the guy, who was now recovering and standing up in the water. Beruka’s savage kick had caused some bruising on his ever so perfect cheek, and he was bleeding from a cut in his lip, something that threw him into a rage.

“Bastard!” he screamed, charging at them through the water. Selena was ready, however, as she lifted herself up using the pool border. With a yell, she kicked her legs forward, splashing water into his face to stagger him, followed by a strong double-kick into his face, knocking him out instantly and leaving him floating on the water. Selena was breathing hard now, realizing that her heartbeat was skyrocketing. She felt a touch on her shoulder and turned, seeing Beruka with her hand extended. Selena took it, using Beruka’s strength to lift up out of the pool, an act that seemingly made her heart race even more.

“You okay?” Beruka sighed, looking at the body floating in the water, “I thought I’d come down for a swim too, but I saw him coming on to you like that and...well.” Selena was dumbfounded. She never even heard Beruka enter, and couldn’t believe that she ran to save her life so suddenly. A surge of emotions coursed through her, emotions that she couldn’t even begin to understand.

So she just hugged her.

“Thank you,” Selena whispered, as Beruka confusedly hugged her back. They stayed there for a few seconds before awkwardly stepping back, neither of them looking at each other’s faces. Selena grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her body, while Beruka just tossed hers onto her shoulder. After a quick stop at the concierge to detail the events of what happened and to request that the creep be fished out of the pool while he was still unconscious, the two took the elevator up, reached their room, and went into the bedroom. 

Beruka started getting dressed into her pajamas as Selena went to take a shower to clean herself of the chlorine from the pool. As the warm water ran down her skin and soaked her hair, her mind wandered. She was still confused about what happened down there. When Beruka came to...rescue her? She wasn’t sure if that was the right word, since she was certain the situation was under control. It was more like she came to meet her, and just happened to help her. Even so, there was no denying that such an action caused something to happen in Selena’s mind. It took a few minutes under the rushing water for something to finally click in Selena’s head, something that made her so dizzy, she needed to sit down on the shower floor.

She liked Beruka. Not as a friend, not as a fellow retainer….she had feelings for her.

Her first reaction was to dismiss it all as a stupid case of adrenaline, but as she lathered shampoo into her long red hair, she knew that couldn’t possibly be the case. She didn’t even realize that she liked girls. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She knew that she had had some sort of infatuation to someone in her past, but that was years ago, and she dismissed it easily. This wasn’t so easily discarded.

Her mind ran along with the soap suds, riveting down her skin in curves and straightaways. She felt like a great weight had been lifted off her mind, but another, heavier one was dropped right after. There was no way she could tell Beruka, at least not now. She wasn’t even sure if Beruka felt anything similar, or if she even considered Selena a friend to begin with. That, along with her earlier outburst, lead her to the conclusion that this wasn’t something that would easily work. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door knocking.

“I’m coming in to brush my teeth,” Beruka called, “Is that okay?”

“Y-yeah!” Selena responded, shocked at how her voice quivered. She heard the door open and the sound of an electric toothbrush go off, then shut off in about a minute. The door opened and closed again, and only then did Selena shut off the water. Drying herself off with one of the bathroom’s complimentary towels, she changed into her pajamas (as she had brought them into the bathroom with her), and stepped out. Beruka was on her side of the bed, reading a book she had brought with her. Selena, now realizing the full extent of the situation, gulped and slipped into bed on her side, immediately turning herself to face the wall.

“Good night, Selena,” Beruka said, shutting her book and killing the lights. Selena blushed.

“G-good night, Beruka,” she whispered, as the room went dark. She felt Beruka shuffle beside her, and turned around, seeing that Beruka was facing the wall. She didn’t move back around, however. She was happy where she was right now, as she closed her eyes and drifted into sweet, blissful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "It was at that moment that she realized, oh gods, I'm gay"
> 
> I really wanted to put that line somewhere.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I'll see you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> There is going to be plenty of adventure in stock for these two, so I do hope you'll stick around! Any comments and critiques are always appreciated! I hope to see you all next time!


End file.
